Welcome to the Ranch!

Steve and Jake with Ladd on Jake's birthday.

Years ago when we were looking to purchase good, broke horses for my children to ride, we met Steve Prewitt and his family.  We were struck by his honesty and knowledge.  Steve was a working cowboy at the time as well as training to be a preacher.

We ended up purchasing a paint mare that we named Cheyenne from him.  My dad was sold when he saw the picture of Steve standing in the saddle swinging a rope.  The young mare just stood still, completely desensitized.  My husband fell in love with this horse and he rides her every chance he gets.

Steve also helped us find another mare.  We named her Roxie.  It was not even his horse, but he drove us out to the stables where she was kept and let us ride her in the parking lot.  It was getting very dark.  The parking lot light threw shadows all over the ground, which will spook most horses.  With only a halter and a lead rope, our family rode her around.  She did not spook.  She responded to our commands without a bit.

Now my son Clayton rides her.  He loves Roxie and together they work well together.  If it is riding around Cross Creek Cattle Company, down a busy street during a parade, or in the rodeo arena, Roxie and Clayton make a good pair.

My son, Jake, and Steve hit it off immediately.  They both have a passion for horses.  When our ranch first hired Steve to train and work with our horses, he spent hours with Jake training him as well.  For a while there, I thought I would get sick of Steve’s name because he is all Jake talked about.  I appreciated the fact that Steve took the time to be a good role model for Jake.  Not only is he a good man, but Steve made time for Jake.

For one of Jake’s birthdays, we had a family and friend trail ride.  I think he was more excited when Steve Prewitt drove up with his wife, Dee, to present Jake with a brand-new rope.  It meant a lot to Jake; therefore, the act meant a lot to me.

Steve has helped Lane be a better rider.  They worked together to be able to open and close gates on horseback.  Lane has watched and taken mental notes of how Steve does groundwork in the round pen.  Lane, too, has enjoyed Steve working here on the ranch.

Now Steve is moving.  He has found a great job about an hour away.  We are excited for him and his family as they embark on a new journey.  It is a bittersweet moment for us, though.  We are losing a great cowboy, horseman, and role model.

Thank you, Steve, for being a part of Cross Creek Cattle Company.  We appreciate all that you did for us.  And, we wish you the best in your new adventure.  We are going to miss you.

A 6 lb. bass swallowed Isaac's arm.

Summer would not be complete for my family unless we went fishing.  At Cross Creek Cattle Company we have several stocked ponds.  One has catfish.  The others have bass and crappie.  With so much work to do on the ranch, it is nice to carve out time to enjoy living here.

Last weekend my boys went fishing with their dad.  They did not catch many, but what they did catch was huge.  You cannot help but get excited when you hook a big bass on your line.  This one in particular put up a fight.  Catching fish is very rewarding.

Fishing is a great way to encourage father/son bonding.  I am not saying that my daughter and I do not fish because we do.  It is fun for me to see the way that my husband teaches the little ones how to fish.  He has so much patience with them.

Once Jake hooked Lane, my husband, in the forehead with a treble hook.  Actually he hooked him twice in the forehead by casting too soon before Lane was out of the way.  Lane calmly asked me to remove the hook.  When I saw that two hooks were buried in his skin, I got sick to my stomach.  I tried to move them, but they would not budge.  Lane had to remove them himself.

I will never forget how he did not yell and scream at anyone. Jake already looked sick.  He was only five at the time.  I think Lane knew that he had learned his lesson already.  Lane just asked him to not do that again.

When my step-father takes little ones fishing, he always cuts the tips of the hooks off.  The hook still catches fish, but it does not catch him.  A great tip for anyone fishing with young children.

Multiple generations like to come out here to fish.  Grandfathers and grandsons, uncles and nephews, fathers and sons enjoy the day together.  Friends are always welcome, too.

My dad has a friend who visited here two months ago.  He is an avid fisherman.  He began fishing early in the morning and fished most of the day.  He caught over 40 fish.  My dad said he has never seen anything like it.  Almost every time his friend cast out, he pulled in a fish.

We don’t always have luck.  Sometime we catch nothing, but those days are few and far between.  I tell my kids, “That is why it is called fishing and not catching.”

I find it relaxing to sit and watch your bobber float on the surface of the water.  My children prefer fishing with lures because there is always something to do.  They can reel in and cast out as much as they want.

We usually stop fishing as soon as we have enough for dinner.  The taste of fresh fish coupled with homegrown vegetables is out of this world.  There is nothing better than eating what you raise, forage, and/or catch.  Living on or visiting Cross Creek Cattle Company enables you to experience a taste of self-sufficiency.

Ready and waiting for their turn in the ring.

On Saturday, June 5th, Jake represented Cross Creek Cattle Company at the Grimes County Fair.  He raised, halter broke, and practiced with the fifteen month old heifer as his 4-H Beef Project.  This is his first year as an official 4-H member; therefore, this project was also his first animal project.

On our ranch and family farm, we raise animals from rabbits and chickens to cows and horses with other species in between.  Raising an animal for the show is an entirely different experience.  This is especially true when comparing grass fed beef to show beef.  To be competitive, show animals need grain in order to fatten them up.  Judges look for good conditioning, which in my mind means fat.  Needless to say, this heifer was taken out of our grass fed program.

We learned a lot this year.  With the help of our county extension agent, Jake fed his heifer as directed.  She began really putting on the weight.  She got her hooves trimmed and her hair clipped.  She also received several baths.  A fan blew on her during the heat of the day.  The heifer was the most pampered animal on our ranch.

The last two weeks before the show, Jake really began working on his showmanship.  Different family members would pretend to be the judge.  We would ask him to do a variety of things with his heifer.  When he set her up, we would walk around her, touch her, and speak to Jake.  This was very good practice for what was to come on the 5th.

Jake in the show ring with Sugar.

Jake arrived at the Grimes County Fairgrounds excited and ready to participate in his first heifer show.  He had the heifer, who he named Sugar, looking show ready and beautiful.  He was all dressed up, too.  Jake was very smart in that he watched a few of the first classes before his class to get a better idea of what the judge would have him do in the ring.  He watched some experienced showman and got some good ideas.

When it was Sugar’s class, Jake was ready.  He walked in the ring with such great confidence.  He looked like he was an experienced showman.  He followed the judge’s requests.  And, he set Sugar up beautifully for the judge.

The judge said as he was giving his reasons for placing the class, “The more that you look at this heifer (Sugar), the more that you like her.”  He also called her “refined and feminine.”  These are all desirable qualities for a heifer in any breed.

Jake and Sugar won the class.  He received a $25.00 gift certificate from Producer’s Co-op in Bryan, Texas.  Jake was excited that he won and we were so proud of Jake.  His hard work paid off.

Now the show bug has bitten him.  He is looking for more shows in which to participate.  I will let you know how he does in his future shows.  His goal right now is to enter the Houston Livestock Show next year.  Wherever Jake shows Sugar or any other heifer, he will make Cross Creek Cattle Company proud.

Now that we have our new horse facility built and occupied, we are working on another project.  We are building a hay barn.

Hay is an important part of any grass fed beef operation.  Grass does not grow in the winter.  At some point, ranchers have to put hay out for their herd.  The weather can really deteriorate the quality of the hay.  Too much rain can make the hay moldy, which is dangerous for animals.

The future spot for our hay barn.

We are in the beginning stages of building a barn in which to store round bales of hay.  Square bales are easier to manage.  I can lift and stack square bales without the aid of machinery.  Square bales have a place in the horse barn.  They are easily fed to the individual horses.

You can feed square bales to cattle.  It actually works well for a small herd.  There is little to no waste as the cattle clean up all the hay on the ground.  Square bales allow you to spread out the hay so that the cattle have more room in which to eat.  You can drop smaller sections of the square bale in a long line, which decreases the amount of butting and pushing in your herd.

You must have a place to store square bales though.  They can get wet and moldy easily.  Another downside is that you have to put out hay everyday.  It is more labor intensive.

For the size herd we are running at Cross Creek Cattle Company, round bales work best for us.  My husband puts out several bales at a time with the help of the tractor.  In two days, the hay is gone.  Again, this is during the winter.

The plans are to have plenty of room for our hay needs in a covered and walled barn.  We are also going to extend the roof to cover our trailer and tractor.  It will be good for our equipment to be under a shelter.

With plenty of grass in the pastures right now, it was a perfect time to construct a hay barn for next year’s hay.  My husband rented a bulldozer to help him knock down trees and remove stumps.  He also worked the dirt to build a nice, level pad for the hay barn.

Andrew, Isaac, and Jake are posing for a photograph on the dozer.

My three year old, Isaac, loves big machinery.  I have never seen anyone so excited about a bulldozer as he was.  He watched my husband work for hours with a huge smile on his face.

After all the work was completed, my husband allowed Isaac to sit on the bulldozer.  He showed him what all the joysticks and pedals did.  Then to Isaac’s surprise, he turned the bulldozer on and allowed him to steer with the joystick.  He also let him lift and lower the front blade.  Isaac was truly on cloud nine.

It was such a great opportunity for Isaac.  I am so thankful that my husband thought of it.  It is just one of the perks of living on Cross Creek Cattle Company!

Our new barn.

Horses play a big role here at Cross Creek Cattle Company.  First and foremost, we enjoy riding horses.  All of us ride even the smallest members of our family.

Isaac and Andrew, aged 3 and 2 respectively, ride in tandem saddles.  If you have not seen a tandem saddle, they are great.  The saddles are made out of a canvas material.  It is like a saddle and blanket in one.  They connect to a regular saddle and sit behind it.  It has a handle on which to hold much like a saddle horn.  You need great horses to ride in tandem as most horses will not like the feel of the second saddle.

My older children are all members of the Grimes County Jr. Deputy Sheriff Mounted Posse.  They each need their own horse.  They also enjoy riding on the ranch for pleasure.  My sons, Jake and Clayton, ride with a neighbor on our ranch almost every day.  They ride for hours.

Horses also help us work our cattle.  We believe that low-stress handling directly affects the quality of our grass fed beef; therefore, we use a sing-song cattle call to move the cattle from pasture to pasture.  A horse or two following behind the herd ensures that all the calves and stragglers move into the next pasture.

Utilizing horses as part of a low-stress management program works well for us.  It is also good for the horses.  They are allowed to work for us and they enjoy it.  Our horses are not just put out to pasture.  They have a purpose on our working ranch.

A horse stall.

For months we have been planning and preparing for our new barn to be built.  The task is complete.  We have a new barn on the ranch.  Its main purpose is to facilitate the needs of our horses.  We have a stall for each of our horses.  The stalls are custom built for each horse.  As some of our horses are larger than the average horse, we enlarged their stalls to give them a more comfortable place.

Our barn has a tack room and a feed room.  It has plenty of room for square bales of hay and some equipment.  One of the most exciting aspects of our barn pertains to our grass fed business.  At this time we only sell beef by the whole, half or quarter section.  We do not have the facilities to store beef and sell it by the cut here at the ranch.

Well, now that our barn is finished, we have the room.  With the addition of some deep freezers, we will in the near future have a store in which you can purchase beef by the cut.  It is exciting!

I will announce when we are open for business, but it will be months so don’t make plans this weekend to make the drive to the ranch for steaks.

We are proud of our new barn and the direction that our grass fed business is taking.  Our horses like it too.  Hopefully our grass fed beef customers will also share in our excitement.

This weekend is fast approaching.  From everyone at Cross Creek Cattle Company, “Happy Mother’s Day!”

Jake and Sugar

Cross Creek Cattle Company does more things than raise healthy and delicious grass fed beef.  We also raise award-winning show animals.  In the past our heifers have placed very high in the big Texas shows like San Antonio, Houston, and Fort Worth.  When they competed in Beefmaster futurities, they also did great.

If you did not already know, a futurity is like a beauty pageant for cattle.  And, if you are interested in seeing all the awards our show heifers have won, then check out our Braggin’ Rights page.

Jake, my eight year old son, is enjoying his first year in 4-H.  He and my other two older children are all members of 4-Hers-on-the-Brazos, which meets in Plantersville.

Jake decided he wanted to show a heifer for the first time.  My father, Kenton Holliday, graciously offered Jake the pick of the herd.  Of course, I advised Jake to listen to PawPaw explain what qualities to look for in a choosing a show-quality calf.  Jake learned and with PawPaw’s help chose an excellent heifer.

He named her “Sugar.”  We had to separate her from the herd because a grass fed heifer will probably not stand a chance against a grain-fed heifer in the show ring.  If you have ever been to a cattle show, you know that fat cows win.  Judges like them plump and filled out all over.  We are feeding this heifer free-choice creep feed.

Because Jake decided to show a heifer a little later than most, he is having to halter break a much bigger heifer than we would normally recommend.  She weighs at least three times what Jake weighs, if not more.  He has had a difficult time, but all his hard work is beginning to pay off.

She leads well now.  He is trying to get her to set-up for the pretend judges in our round pen.  He rubs her belly, back, and neck with his show stick.  It is a long stick with a hook at the end.  Sugar really enjoys the scratching and rubbing.

The problem that Jake is working on now is getting Sugar to come to him.  Catching her is a game that I think she enjoys.  Once caught, she does well.  The other day she kicked him hard in the arm when he reached to get her halter.  He had a bruise for a week.

Jake knows that he has to work hard to get her ready for the show ring.  He is enjoying raising a show heifer.  He likes a challenge.  Luckily, he is committed to the end.  Hopefully in June, Sugar and Jake will stand proud and do well for the judges.  I know one thing, everyone hear at Cross Creek Cattle Company is rooting for the both of them.

Kids of Cross Creek Cattle Company

Most people do not live in rural areas anymore.  A complete switch has taken place.  More people now live in urban areas.  Living in the country has its advantages.  It also has disadvantages.  Like everything in life, you have to weigh both.

My five children have lived on Cross Creek Cattle Company for most if not all of their lives.  They have chores that most kids their age do not have.  They take turns milking our goats.  They feed our chickens, sheep, goats, rabbits, dogs, and cats.  They can grow and harvest vegetables.  They can catch and clean a fish.  They can work cattle.  Depending on their ages, my children are either quite experienced in these areas or they are in training.

All of them are raised to avoid cow patties as they stroll through the pasture.  They know to watch for snakes.  They know where the barbed wire fences are even if the sun makes the wires seem invisible.  They can identify poison ivy regardless of the season.

When people visit the ranch, they are quickly given a crash course in the potential hazards.  Likewise when we travel to urban areas, my children receive a much different training.  Don’t talk to strangers.  Look both ways before crossing the street.

I thought it would be interesting to hear from my children today.  I asked each of them, “What is your favorite thing about living on a ranch?”  The following are their answers.

Clayton said, “I love hunting deer in December.”  He is a great shot.  Clayton also loves observing the plentiful wildlife throughout the year.  Watching the deer is his favorite.

China Berry tree in autumn.

Kyla said, “I love watching the colors change on the leaves.”  About the only trees that change from green to brilliant color are the China Berry trees.  She went on to say that she loves being able to observe God’s creation everyday.

Jake responded, “I love being able to work with the horses all the time.”  He loves horses.  He even writes his own blog about horses called Cross Creek Horsemanship.

Isaac said, “Riding horses!”  He sure loves to ride.

Andrew is too little to answer, but he also loves to ride a horse.  My guess is that he enjoys tractor rides even more.

Well, the kids have spoken.  They love living on Cross Creek Cattle Company.  And, they have different reasons.  I love the fact that they are growing up on a working ranch.  They have so many opportunities to learn skills and enjoy the outdoors.  Living in a rural area has its perks.

Lane is cauterizing the horn while Clayton hold its head and Jake stands ready with medicine.

It was a beautiful Scottish day at Cross Creek Cattle  Company.  The overcast sky and the cool day was highlighted with constant drizzle that dampened your hair, clothing, etc.  This of course made everything feel even colder.

My immediate family stood in the barn with my father discussing the day’s plans.  Sorting, de-horning, branding, vaccinating, and castrating were the items on the agenda.  We divided up the jobs and got to work.

We are all experienced cowboys having worked cattle for most of our lives.  Even my eight-year old son is competent in many areas of cattle work.  My dad is the most experienced of us all.  He worked side-by-side with his grandfather since he could walk.  Isn’t funny how cyclical life can be?  Here my dad was working alongside his grandchildren.

This particular kind of cattle work is not for the faint at heart.  You are going to see blood.  You are going to smell the scent of burning flesh.  It is one of the most unpleasant parts of living on a working ranch.

Daddy is branding. Clay is holding the vaccines waiting for his turn to work.

It is easier than in the past.  We have squeeze chutes that hold the calf still while you work on them.  You do not have to rope, tackle, and throw the calf.  We have electric branding irons and a cauterizing instrument.  We do not have to keep a fire going with metal brands sitting in the fire until they have red-hot tips.

We do give two vaccinations.  Each calf receives an 8-Way Blackleg and IBR4 vaccine.  The first prevents a fatal disease called Blackleg.  The most susceptible calves are ones thriving with great weight gain by eating nutritious grass.  A certain spore in the ground causes this disease and it is completely preventable with the vaccine.  The latter prevents the Infectious Bovine Rhinotracheitis (IBR) disease.  It is a transmittable disease via contact.  We have never had any of our cattle with this illness, but there are other herds nearby.  Occasionally we find a stray cow in our herd from a neighbor’s pasture.  Both vaccines are ones that we deem necessary to prevent for the health of our herd.

We brand the cows we intend to keep.  Believe it or not, but there are still cattle rustlers.  People steal cattle and usually take them directly to the sale.  A brand is one sure way to prove that a cow belongs to you.  You have to register your brand with the state.  Our brand is a C with a squiggly line beneath it.  The C stands for the alliteration in the name of our ranch.  The line symbolizes the creeks that cross the ranch.

We de-horn for safety purposes.  Our cattle are docile and easy-going.  Regardless of the naturally good disposition, it is always safer to work around cows without sharp-tipped horns.  There are several ways to remove horns.  If you act when the calf is very young, you can scoop out the horns.  You can pay for a veterinarian to perform cosmetic surgery in a sense to remove the horns.  You can also remove the tips.  The horns will not continue to grow so the cow will have blunt nubs.  We chose the do the latter this time.  It is important to cauterize the bleeding because a cow can lose a lot of blood if you do not act.

It was a successful day.  We worked together as a team.  Nobody got hurt.  The cattle are doing fine.  Cross Creek Cattle Company is literally a family-owned and operated ranch.  We are teaching the next generation so that high quality cattle and grass fed beef can continue for generations to come.

One of the rites of passage in a young man’s life in Texas, and other parts of the country, is killing his first deer.  My son, Clayton, began hunting with his PawPaw with binoculars.  He was in kindergarten at the time.  He would dress up in camoflague and get up extremely early in the morning.  Together PawPaw and Clayton would sit as still as possible and wait for the chance to see one of the most beautiful of all forest animals.

After many years of “patience” practice, Clayton proved himself capable of sitting still.  When he was 10-years old, he was allowed to hunt on Cross Creek Cattle Company.  He killed his first buck.  It was a nice-sized spike.

Every hunting season since then, Clayton has proudly supplied venison for his family.  This year on his first day of hunting, Clayton brought home a big deer.  It is a eight-point buck.  It was a good-sized buck.

We do not have the trophy deer that draw hunters to South Texas.  White-tailed deer thrive in our woods.  Their population is continually increasing each year.  I have seen more bucks this year in the pastures, roadsides, and woods than any other time of my life.  It is nice to see them thriving as they are an important part of our eco-system.

Our family enjoys eating venison in a variety of ways.  We smoke the hams.  We make pan and link sausage.  We fry the backstrap and tenders like chicken-fried steak.  We pound out strips of the shoulder and grill with jalapenos, bacon, and cream cheese.  We almost eat venison year round.

Clayton takes great pride, as he should, in providing wild game for his family.  We count on him every year to help feed our big family.  It is one of the ways that enables us to strive for self-sufficiency.  We try to live off the land as much as possible.  As this hunting season is concerned, Clayton brought home the venison.

Andrew DeHaven

John Wayne starred in a movie titled, “Cowboys,” in which a group of young boys become men.  They did not grow much older on the trail, but they did come of age.  By being entrusted with responsibility, each boy developed a great work ethic.  Each boy returned home a different person as the trials of life shaped them into men.

I personally think that our society is full of overgrown boys.  Men-sized boys who are more interested in self-gratification and the here and now without the vision to see into their future.  I see this problem not only with males, but with females as well.  Few seem to look long-term.  We, as a society, seem very short-sighted.

I also think that this problem permeates all areas of life.  Parents seem to wait expectantly for the time when their children finally leave home.  They are tired of having to provide for them, clean up their mistakes, etc.  I do not think that our society places enough emphasis on how important ones job as a parent is.  In fact we seem to demean anyone who makes financial sacrifices as they dedicate their lives to their family.  How many times have you heard or said yourself, “Oh, I am just a mom (dad).”

Isaac DeHaven

We are a little old-fashioned at Cross Creek Cattle Company.  And, that is just fine with us.  We purposely spend a lot of time together as a family.  Not just our immediate family, but our extended family as well.  We invest our time, talents, and energy to operate a cattle and horse ranch in the 21st century.  It is not for the money.  Ranches do not make the money they once did.  We do it for the love of it.  We love working together to accomplish something.  We love having a common purpose.  We love the work ethic it takes to run the ranch.  It surely does not run itself.

As a mom, I want my four sons and daughter to grow up with a vision.  To grow into their adult bodies, wise beyond their years.  I want them to experience life and learn from it.  I want them to know responsibility.  I want them to be prepared to be able to survive on their own.  I look forward to the day when they leave of their own accord to make their own mark on the world, as men and women in the true sense of the word.

Therefore, it is no accident that when we worked cows this morning that all of our kids were there.  Jake helped Lane sort the calves.  Clayton and I worked different gates.  Kyla watched the “babies” Isaac and Andrew in the barn where they still felt part of the action.

When I deemed it perfectly safe, I allowed the two boys to come into the round pen and stand on the catwalk adjacent to the chute.  We needed to load calves to take to the sale.  Each boy had a cow working stick like everyone else.  Isaac could barely see the calves over the protective wooden wall of the chute, but he smiled as he yelled, “Get on outta here cows!  Yah!”

His smile said everything.  He felt a part of the team.  He helped load the cows.  He cannot wait until we have to work together again.  Even Andrew, who just sat on the catwalk holding a stick, said, “Yah, cow!  Yah, cow!”  At three years and nineteen months of age, my little boys are becoming cowboys, who will one day become men.